KCRise Fund

Idle Smart team: Kaley Lester, Brayden Jensen and Andrew Smith

How a KC partnership helped Idle Smart avoid a cold start that could’ve stalled its recovery

Editor’s note: The following story is sponsored by Academy Bank, a Kansas City based community bank, and is part of a series of features spotlighting some of the bank’s startup and small business partners. Wasted time is wasted money — a notion at the forefront of Idle Smart, a Kansas City IoT tech company built…

Hometown startups want their due; sister-led QuickHire’s $1.4M round could be just the start

QuickHire’s potential for success is enhanced — not limited — by the young tech startup’s south-central Kansas geography, said Deborah Gladney, one half of a sister-led Wichita venture that recently announced its $1.4 million round boosted by a leading Kansas City fund. “Being from Wichita, we’ve come to know and appreciate everything this city has to…

Trident storage by Spear Power Systems

KC startup’s sale charges strategy as battery innovator plugs into century-old tech firm

A Massachusetts tech company’s strategy to advance into new clean energy markets is now electrified thanks to the completed acquisition of Grandview-based Spear Power Systems — a leader in next generation battery storage systems for demanding land, sea and air applications. “The acquisition of Spear Power Systems enables us to deliver more comprehensive energy storage…

Clarence Tan and Edna Martinson, Boddle Learning

Boddle raises $1.35M with KCRise Fund on board, reaches 450,000+ students, expands team

Editor’s note: KCRise Fund is a financial supporter of Startland News. This report was produced independently of that relationship. TULSA — As schools across the country navigate in-person and remote learning models, Boddle Learning, a math gaming platform that was founded in Kansas City continues to grow, raising another round of more than $1 million…

Riddhiman Das, TripleBlind

TripleBlind posts $24M round as interest in its data privacy tech expands, founder talks $100M+ valuation

An oversubscribed $24 million Series A funding round announced Monday is expected to push Kansas City-coded TripleBlind into new verticals as it rapidly scales and finds itself a leader in data efficiency.  The startup — which previously secured $8.2 million in seed funding in April — found return support in Mayo Clinic, which co-led the…